


Twelve

by patchfire, raving_liberal



Series: Story of Three Boys [70]
Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-06
Updated: 2012-08-06
Packaged: 2017-11-11 13:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/479162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer drifts to its inevitable conclusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twelve

Sam leaves first. 

Sometimes Tina thinks that if she and Mike are one person, they are dating the one person of Mercedes and Sam combined. If it's date night, it's usually with Sam and Mercedes. And now… Sam's gone. There won't be any more date nights with them. Yes, all four of them say that they'll get together during Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas break, if there isn't time at Thanksgiving, but Tina doesn't really think it'll happen. If she's completely honest, she thinks that Sam and Mercedes will break up by Halloween, so no. There won't be any more date nights. 

The party with everyone—minus Rachel, who thinks London's more important than their last weeks together—is on Friday night, the four of them go out Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, Mike goes to say good-bye. Tina drives over to pick him up, and he's standing on the sidewalk, staring southwards. 

Eleven. 

 

Finn is next. He's not even around for a week just before he leaves; he and Puck and Kurt go to the beach together, and everyone else talks about how nice it is for Puck and Kurt to let Finn "tag along". Tina and Mike just grin at each other. Finn's back for a few days, though, and as the three of them leave the Dairy King, where good-bye milkshakes have been consumed, Finn gives everyone a hug. 

He murmurs something indistinguishable when he hugs each of them, and Tina still can't decipher it when it's her turn, but as the three boys walk out the door, she has to run to the bathroom and sob. 

All three of them look utterly heartbroken. 

Ten. 

 

Rachel comes back into town four days after Puck and Kurt drive back from Madison, where they helped Finn move in. Rachel wants everyone to get together, and it's late on Thursday before they all assemble. She looks almost surprised when there's only ten of them and that's all, like she didn't realize that going to London meant that she wouldn't be there when Sam and Finn left. 

Kurt stands up when it's been less than two hours since they arrived, and Tina feels her heart sink. "We're leaving after work tomorrow," he says quietly. "So we need to get some sleep."

"If you're not starting work or anything until Wednesday," Mercedes asks, "why not stay a few more days, Kurt?"

Kurt sighs and looks at her closely. "There's nothing left here, ’Cedes," he says wearily, and then the cycle of hugs is repeated, times two. 

"Can I come visit you?" Tina asks both of them, her voice shaking a little. 

"Of course," Puck scoffs. 

"Thanks, Puck." She smiles sadly. "Or is it Noah now?"

"I'll probably always have to answer to Puck," is the vague answer she gets, and then she's in Kurt's arms. 

His reply to her question is just as immediate. "I'd be mad if you didn't."

"Good."

"Bring that boyfriend of yours, too," he teases. 

They're almost gone when Rachel stops them, and Tina realizes that this is her first good-bye. "Aren't— aren't we all going to make plans? To get together at Thanksgiving?" she asks, sounding almost desperate. 

"We won't be back at Thanksgiving," Kurt answers her. "Carole doesn't need to do Thanksgiving with a newborn."

"Oh." Rachel sighs. "Christmas break?"

"I'm sure we'll all see each other then," Tina breaks in, nodding a little to reassure Rachel. They probably will. Tina's just sure it will all be different. 

Nine.  
Eight. 

 

A week later, Tina's the one who is crying as a car heads southward, the third member of their little quartet headed for Atlanta in the back of her parents' SUV. Mercedes has a week long orientation. Tina can feel a lump in her throat. One of her best friends, and she doesn't know when she'll see her again. They're so far apart, tied together by shared memories and a tiny town in Ohio, and it doesn't seem like enough. 

This time, Mike drives her home. They go out for date night and realize that there's no one left in Lima to double-date with. The next time they go out with another couple will be in another city, most likely; the next time they go out with another couple in Lima could literally be a different year on the calendar. 

Seven. 

 

Artie leaves a week and four days after Mercedes, and the six of them left actually drive to the airport to watch Artie roll onto the plane and off to southern California. Realistically, Tina knows that Artie's another one that won't make it home often, and she starts to cry again. He was her first boyfriend; one of her first friends, period, in high school, and being on opposite coasts from him seems somehow even more final. Yes, she'll have Mike; yes, she can take the train to visit Kurt and _Noah_ and, well, Rachel, too; still, something about Artie leaving hammers home that high school is over. Childhood is over. They might not be adults yet, but they're hurtling in that direction, and everything is different. 

Six. 

 

Two days later, the six of them gather again, sitting in Starbucks and looking behind the counter like it's missing something—someone—a boy named Puck; Tina wonders if that boy even exists anymore. In the morning, Brittany's driving south on I-75 and Mike, Mike is driving east to Boston. She'll be there soon, herself, but it seems so odd. 

There's crying as Brittany leaves, and Tina clings to her for too long; too long for Santana, anyway, who glares. Brittany will float on okay, or at least that's what Tina hopes. She hopes for Brittany to find someone like Santana, who will protect her. She hopes Brittany is happy. Most of all, she hopes Brittany continues to smile. 

Brittany does smile through her tears, all the way up until she disappears through the door, and Tina can't hold up her own smile any longer, then. 

Five. 

 

Friday, August 24, 2012, is the hardest day that Tina has ever faced. 

In the morning, she tells Mike good-bye, and yes, she'll see him soon, they're both in or near Boston, but they had both hoped to drive out together, until their parents had put a complete stop to those plans. The next time she sees Mike, they'll be college students.

Four.

 

In the afternoon, she meets Santana, Quinn, and Rachel. The three of them are all getting on planes the next day. Quinn out of Toledo, Santana out of Columbus, and Rachel out of Dayton. Tina can't be in three places at once, so she decides that she’s not even going to try. The last of the glee club, the last of the girls, and it's so hard, so very hard to let them each leave her arms when she hugs them. 

Three.  
Two.  
One. 

On Saturday evening, Tina re-checks the last of her luggage. A few things were shipped ahead; more were ordered online for pick-up when they arrive. The rest is all in the luggage sitting on her bed. All of her toiletries are new. Her closet is almost empty. She's done all she can, and she wants to get out of the house for an hour or two, before her mom starts to tear up again. 

She reaches for her phone and stops. There's no one to call; no one to text. 

It's not exactly true. Just that day, she's exchanged texts with Mercedes, talked to Mike twice, looked at a lot of pictures on Facebook that all of them are posting. They're just scattered, though, and Tina walks thoughtfully down the stairs and drives into downtown Lima. She parks near Puck's old apartment building and walks. 

She walks to the school, empty and dark, though she can see the signs on the doors and windows, indicators that a new year at McKinley has started. McKinley, and New Directions, continuing on without any of them. Then she walks back, past the Lima Bean and Joey's and Kewpee, down to St. Rita's and the Starbucks. She gets an iced coffee and walks back, climbing in her car and driving to Pat's for a doughnut before circling the mall parking lot. She drives past Rachel's house, Mike's house, the Hudmel house, and Brittany's house, and through the public square before driving over to the stadium. 

She climbs into the stands, sits in their usual row, and closes her eyes. If she pretends hard enough, she can hear all eleven of them, see them all in her head, and it's a long time before she stumbles back to her car and to her house. 

The next morning on the plane, she tells her mom she's still tired. She puts in her earbuds, calling up the playlist she'd made after Kurt sent all of them the files of all their songs, or at least many of them. She hits shuffle, and isn't surprised when Rachel's voice starts her off. She'll take them with her, one way or another. 

Zero.


End file.
